SJL New Orleans, May 2015

Southern Jewish Life NEW ORLEANS EDITION

CELEBRATING ISRAEL IN THE SOUTH ANTI-SEMITISM REMAINS RARE IN REGION DONATING DURING GIVENOLA WELCOMING NEW RABBIS CONCLUDING THE “TOO JEWISH” TRILOGY REAL ESTATE AND HOMES ISSUE INSIDE:

May 2015

Volume 25 Issue 5

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2 Southern Jewish Life • May 2015

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shalom y’all shalom shalomy’all y’all Should a kosher caterer have the option of turning down a wedding at a “messianic” congregation? Or some other kind of church?

Over the last few months, controversy has raged nationwide over legislation, adopted in many states and debated in others, that purports to protect business owners who are exercising their religious beliefs from being sued over any blowback from said free exercise.

That these bills are coming about as same-sex weddings are being recognized in more and more states, and cases of vendors refusing to provide services for those ceremonies are splashed all over the news, is purely coincidental, one is supposed to believe. Sure.

On the face of it, one wants to tell these business owners to grow up, they are in business to make money, and the money from same-sex couples is as green as anyone else’s, and the checks cash the same. You find the ceremony objectionable? You’re not the one being married.

Conversely, if you were having a wedding or other simcha, would you really want to hire and give money to someone who did not want to be there? I’d be concerned about what surreptitious ingredients a baker might slip into the cake, or how good the photos would be from a photographer who objects to the proceedings.

And that’s without dragging said vendor into court and through the media buzzsaw.

Should a gay caterer be able to refuse to cater a wedding at Westboro Baptist?

While all of the focus has been on fundamentalist Christians who say same-sex weddings (let alone relationships) violate their beliefs and they don’t want to be seen as giving any approval, there are so many more possible scenarios.

The “messianic” movement is viewed with suspicion — at best — by the Jewish world, and the community has been vigilant in maintaining a clear distance while the missionaries try to continued on page 34

in the center of this issue of Southern Jewish Life

On the cover: Matisyahu performed at DYF 3.0 on April 12 at Tulane University. Photo

by Lauren Cross.

More, page 15.

Cover Image: Clarice Courtesy Haspel

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May 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 3

commentary

May 2015 March 2015

Caught in the Women of the Wall confrontation On April 20 I experienced a confrontation of new heights in Jerusalem. A confrontation involving shouting, pushing and crying. A confrontation involving worshippers, police and arrests. A confrontation of great embarrassment to me as a Jew, human being and lover of Israel.

A confrontation not between Jews and Muslims, not between Israelis and Arabs, but between Jews and Jews.

Women of the Wall, or Neshot Hakotel, began 26 years ago when 70 women approached the Kotel to conduct their very own prayer service with tallitot, tefilin, and a Torah.

Since that day in 1988, women have been struggling to re-create that service and to earn the right of women to pray at the Western Wall in the same fashion as men.

Each Rosh Chodesh, women, men and children gather at the Western Wall to pray and advocate for the right of women to equally experience Judaism at the Western Wall. There are currently over 100 Torah scrolls in use at the Kotel, but even today not one of them is permitted to be used in the women’s section. Women of the Wall is fighting for their right to read from a Torah scroll in front of the Kotel.

On this Rosh Chodesh Iyar I had the opportunity to experience the services of Women of the Wall. It started like any other Women of the Wall service: men praying on their side, women on theirs. Both men and women were fulfilling the mitzvah of wearing tallit and tefillin: practicing the right they have earned through years of perseverance and dedication. They are singing the same prayers heard on the men’s side; the same prayers heard in Reform, Conservative and Orthodox synagogues worldwide. The women at the Kotel this one morning were trying to have the same experience men have each morning at the Kotel. All was calm; each person was having his or her own spiritual experience at the Western Wall.

This calmness changed dramatically with one historic passing of the Torah. The minyan of men took a Torah from the men’s section, opened the wall separating the men’s and women’s section, and passed the Torah to the women’s section. The first time a Western Wall Torah has ever been read on the women’s side was about to occur. While the women sang and read from the Torah, the men continued singing

and praying to distract the hundreds of Hassidic men from witnessing what was happening. I felt an overwhelming amount of pride supporting the women’s 25-year dream of once again reading Torah at the Western Wall.

Before I had time to react, I was in the middle of a brawl. Despite the attempted diversion, the more traditional Jews quickly realized the missing Torah. They ran from the other side of the men’s section while yelling and screaming at the men and women involved in prayer.

The sense of pride I felt moments earlier quickly mixed with emotions of embarrassment and confusion. In a matter of seconds, the services died down and the fighting picked up.

Very observant Jews pushed their way through the wall of men and women in an attempt to reclaim the Torah. The egalitarian men pushed back trying to protect the women reading the Torah. Pushing and shoving ensued, causing men to fall to the ground.

Jews were fighting Jews. Humans were fighting humans.

When the police separated the people, the shouting and yelling continued. One man called another man a thief. I heard one man say, “we are all brothers” to which another responded, “We are not brothers. You are not Jews.” A man told another that he was not acting in the image of God. The screaming went so far that a 12-year-old boy called girls whores and prostitutes. The insults were coming from both sides: Haredim and egalitarians alike.

Jews were insulting Jews. Humans were insulting humans.

As this was just before Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut, this experience makes me question the current status of Judaism in Israel and worldwide. While it was amazing to see women reading Torah at the Western Wall, I struggle to comprehend the utter disrespect shown from one Jew toward another. How do Jews move forward from a confrontation of this magnitude? Is the answer to continue having demonstrations such as the one held each Rosh Chodesh by Women of the Wall? Or is the answer political action such as petitions and court hearings? I can only hope that religious equality is achieved in a method that advocates for respect from one person to another.

I hope that Jews can live together as equal Jews, and that humans can live together as civil humans.

Mack Krell, 18, grew up in Birmingham and is studying in Israel for the year on a gap year program called Kivunim. As part of the program, he studies in Jerusalem and travels to different countries to learn about Jewish history and culture. Next year, he will be attending Northeastern University to study engineering.

Southern Jewish Life PUBLISHER/EDITOR Lawrence M. Brook editor@sjlmag.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING Lee J. Green lee@sjlmag.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ginger Brook ginger@sjlmag.com WEB EDITOR Eugene Walter Katz eugene@sjlmag.com PHOTOGRAPHER-AT-LARGE Rabbi Barry C. Altmark deepsouthrabbi.com CONTRIBUTING WRITER Doug Brook brookwrite.com BIRMINGHAM OFFICE P.O. Box 130052, Birmingham, AL 35213 13 Office Park Circle #6 Birmingham, AL 35223 205/870.7889 NEW ORLEANS OFFICE 3747 West Esplanade, 3rd Floor Metairie, LA 70002 504/780.5615 TOLL-FREE 866/446.5894 FAX 866/392.7750 connect@sjlmag.com ADVERTISING Advertising inquiries to Lee Green, 205/870.7889 or lee@sjlmag.com Media kit, rates available upon request SUBSCRIPTIONS It has always been our goal to provide a large-community quality publication to all communities of the South.

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4 Southern Jewish Life • May 2015

agenda interesting bits & can’t miss events

The 36th Annual Mardi Gras Mitzvah Makers Hospital Parade included a 10-piece Dixieland Band, Ronald McDonald, Shriners Clowns, King Cakes for the staff and physicians, with a second line through Touro Infirmary, Kindred Hospital and Home Life in the Gardens. Photo by Hunter Thomas.

More Jewish organizations participating in GiveNOLA Day The second GiveNOLA Day will be on May 5, and will have much more participation by agencies in the Jewish community.

Hosted by the Greater New Orleans Foundation, GiveNOLA Day is a one-day, online giving event to inspire people to give generously to the nonprofit organizations that make the region a stronger and more thriving community for all.

Individuals can make online donations to participating nonprofits at givenola.org from midnight to 11:59 p.m. on May 5. The minimum donation is $10. All donations made on that day give the nonprofits the opportunity to earn lagniappe dollars, awards and hourly prizes.

Awards include most money raised, most unique donors and randomly-drawn $1,000 hourly prizes. Donations to the Lagniappe Fund will be distributed to all agencies in proportion to what they raise on May 5, and the Foundation hopes to raise at least $250,000 in that fund, and many Jewish-owned businesses are already part of that effort.

Last year, the day raised $2.25 million from over 19,000 donors around the nation. This year, the goal is to raise $3 million from at least 25,000 donors.

Among the over 550 non-profits participating this year will be the AntiDefamation League, AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps, Hadassah, Jewish Children’s Regional Service, Jewish Community Center, Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana, Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans, Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, National Council of Jewish Women and Northshore Jewish Congregation.

Last year, six Jewish organizations participated.

In addition to regular contributions of $10 or more, Jewish Family Service notes that the agency will be moving offices later this spring, so GiveNOLA Day is an opportunity for a long-term gift. Contributors of $360 or more will have a mezuzah dedicated in the new office, with the donor’s name on a commemorative plaque. One mezuzah will also be

raffled, with all who donate $36 or more receiving an entry.

The New Orleans Jewish Community Center said gifts to the agency through GiveNOLA Day “help us build for the future while allowing us to continue providing quality children’s education and camping experiences, free cultural programming, support for seniors, family fitness, and a welcoming Jewish home for our community.”

The Federation is doing several incentive programs in an effort to top $50,000. Incoming Federation President Eddie Soll is sponsoring a Power Hour from 10 to 11 a.m., matching all donations during that hour, up to $1,000. Current Federation President Morton Katz is sponsoring a similar match of up to $1,000 from 3 to 4 p.m.

Last year, Katz’s Power Hour raised $5,130, easily exceeding the match.

In addition, all new or increased gifts to Federation are matched with 25 percent extra by the Goldring and Woldenberg Family Foundations.

JNOLA will have a Cinco de Mayo GiveNOLA event at Cellar Door from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., with complimentary drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

There will be a match of up to $750 in gifts from Joshua and Mara Force, Brian and Lisa Katz, and Shea and Michelle Soll.

Last year, the Federation raised the most among Jewish groups, coming in 24th in total donors with 151, and 19th in funds raised with $20,760, not counting matches and Lagniappe funds.

The Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana came in second among Jewish groups in dollars raised with $10,451 despite being fifth among Jewish groups on the individual donors list with 40.

The JCC tied for 52nd overall in donors with 97, raising $4,020. JFS attracted 78 gifts totaling $3,544, while JCRS had 70 gifts for $5,814.

NCJW raised $1,672 from 31 donors.

Team Gleason topped the overall donors list last year with 631 for $42,864, while the Ogden Museum of Southern Art topped the dollar amount with $101,285 from 147 donors.

NOLA

May 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 5

agenda Touro, Gates add to rabbinic staff Continental fine dining with Creole/Cajun and European influences, from award-winning Chef Nick Gile

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Two New Orleans-area congregations announced the hiring of additional rabbis.

On March 17, Gates of Prayer in Metairie hired Rabbi Alexis Pinsky as the congregation’s first assistant rabbi.

The decision to hire an assistant rabbi is an outgrowth of the GOP 2020 visioning process and focus groups.

Pinsky is an Atlanta native who will be ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York this month. She will begin at Gates of Prayer on July 1.

For Pinsky, this will be somewhat of a homecoming. She was a Jewish studies and psychology major and active in Hillel at Tulane, and her brother is already in New Orleans, having attended Tulane for undergraduate and medical school.

In 2013, she was one of four women featured at an all-night Shavuot learning session with Beth Israel, Gates of Prayer and Shir Chadash in Metairie, on “Authority and Leadership in the Jewish World.”

Pinsky has been student rabbi at Beth Sholom Temple in Fredericksburg, Va., and was rabbinic intern at Temple Emanu-El in New York, where she led worship, gave sermons, led Torah study, served as conversion coordinator, created family worship and was involved in their 20/30s outreach program.

Rabbi Todd Silverman will be the new Rabbinic Director of Lifelong Learning at Touro Synagogue.

Silverman is a native of Clifton Park, N.Y., near Albany. He was active in NFTY and the teen leadership program at URJ Kutz Camp in New York. He attended the State University of New York at Oswego, where he studied theater and was active in the small Jewish student community.

After working with the developmentally disabled in Syracuse, he moved to Los Angeles 10 years ago to become a teacher at Brawerman Elementary, a Jewish Day School. After four years of teaching he entered Hebrew Union College, first doing the mandatory year in Jerusalem, where he became friends with cantorial student David Mintz, who is now Touro’s cantor.

He will be ordained this month at the Los Angeles campus of HUC.

Beth Israel hosting new Consul General Beth Israel in Metairie will welcome the new Israeli Consul-General to the Southwest for Shabbat services on May 22. Eitan Levon will speak about the challenges and opportunities Israel faces and how U.S. Jewry should be involved, following the 7 p.m. service.

Advance reservations are needed for the dinner, which for members is $18 for adults and $9 for children over the age of 5, and for non-members is $25 and $18 respectively.

Levon has been counselor at the mission of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva, where he has served as Israel’s representative to the Conference on Disarmament. In 2008 he was the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s coordinator for the Durban II conference.

Levon succeeds Ambassador Meir Shlomo at the Houston Consulate, which serves Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

6 Southern Jewish Life • May 2015

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City Council honors Temple Sinai On April 9, the New Orleans City Council honored Temple Sinai on its 145th anniversary. Founded in 1870, Sinai was the first Reform congregation in New Orleans and is currently the largest Jewish congregation in Louisiana.

During the meeting, Communications Director Carla Rose Jacob, Executive Director EllenRae Shalett, President-Elect Robert B. Brickman, President Sheila Gold and Rabbi Edward Paul Cohn gave a presentation on the congregation’s history and ongoing community programs.

District “A” Councilmember Susan Guidry said “On its 145th anniversary, we celebrate Temple Sinai for its lasting contribution to the rich history and culture of the City of New Orleans. Temple Sinai has served as an integral part of the community for many years and will continue to be a cornerstone for spiritual and community life.”

New class ushers in new name for former Lemann-Stern program At the April 20 graduation ceremony for the Lemann-Stern Leadership Development class, the class of 2015 to 2017 was unveiled — and learned that they would not be in Lemann-Stern.

The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans’ emerging leaders program is being renamed the Katz-Phillips Leadership Development Program in recognition of contributions from Carole and Morton Katz, and Ida and Stuart Phillips.

The annual alumni event will be known as the Betty and Phillip Meyers Leadership Development Alumni Event.

The program started in 1960 for the purpose of training outstanding young men and women in the Greater New Orleans Jewish community for positions of leadership. Participants in the program are selected from self-nominations or nominations made by past Lemann-Stern participants and community leaders. The program is two years in length and includes a mission to Israel, monthly meetings and a retreat.

The class of 2013 to 2015 was Phil Brickman, Casie Davidson, Jared Davidson, Michael Dodd, David Dulitz, Kristen Dulitz, Nate Kanter, Jorie Kirschbaum, Emily Kupperman, Zach Kupperman, Adam Matasar, Katie Matasar, Meredith Petrone, Corey Rittvo, David Rittvo, Aaron Wolfson and Daliah Wolfson.

The incoming class, with 26 participants, is the largest since 1984 to 1986. Class members for 2015 to 2017 are Bradley and Daniela Bain, Ben and Darrah Caplan, Sarah Cohen, Tracey Dodd, Jason and Rachael Feder, Jonathan and Holly Friedman, Mike and Julie Green, Jonathan Levy, Austin and Carrie Marks, Jeffrey Schwartz and Amy Barad, Peter Seltzer, Alon and Emily Shaya, Jeremy Soso and Rose Sher, Ben Swig, Hallie Timm, Sam and Heide Winston.

NOLA

May 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 7

agenda Judaica at symphony book sale fundraiser

Kevin Darr, M.D. with Covington Orthopedic is one of fifteen physicians in the U.S. to begin enrolling subjects as part of a new, multi-site, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. This trial (ACT-OA), conducted by Cytori Therapeutics, utilizes the patient’s own Adipose Derived Regenerative Cells (ADRCs), prepared using the investigational Celution® System, in the treatment of osteoarthritis affecting the knee.

Dr. Darr is also conducting several other IRBapproved clinical studies measuring the safety and effectiveness of regenerative cell therapy to treat osteoarthritis of the knee, hip, and shoulder; soft tissue disorders (rotator cuff tears, ligament/tendon tears, tendonitis/tendinosis, etc.); and osteonecrosis.

For information on the ACT-OA clinical trial and additional studies, please contact Covington Orthopedic at (985) 273-5888 and visit www.DrKevinDarr.com, www.ACT-OA.com or www.clinicaltrials.gov.

A Judaica book collection will be among the finds available at the annual Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra’s Symphony Book Fair. The fundraiser will be held at the University of New Orleans Human Performance Center building.

Hours will be 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on May 29 and 30, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 31. On May 29, admission is $10, it is free the other two days.

From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 31 there will be a special sale for children.

The Judaic books were part of a personal collection bequeathed by a well-known Tulane University professor and book dealer. Among the 100,000 items at the sale will be fiction, choice non-fiction, cookbooks, politics, biographies, history, crafts and hobbies, Sci-Fi, works of art, collectibles and more.

The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, Jewish Community Relations Council and JNOLA will have a wine and cheese reception with Josh Schwarz, the Secretary General at the Jewish Agency for Israel, on May 28 at 6 p.m. at the Uptown Jewish Community Center.

Beth Israel in Gulfport will be holding its annual fundraiser on June 4, “Beer, Bourbon and Barbecue,” in Magnolia Hall at Florence Gardens. The evening will include barbecue, beer from Chandeleur Brewing Company, and Sazerac and Buffalo Trace Bourbon. There will be a draw-down for cash and prizes. Tickets, including a draw-down ticket, are $40 in advance and $50 at the door. Donations and sponsorships are welcome.

B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge will have the B’nai Israel Classic on May 7 at the Island Golf Club in Plaquemine. The tournament will start at 9 a.m. Registration is $125 and includes the round, cart, range balls, lunch and prizes. Hole sponsorships are $125.

The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans will have its Lion of Judah luncheon on May 7 at 11:45 a.m., at the home of Carol Asher.

Lion of Judah is a society for women who give at least $5,000 to the Federation Annual Campaign.

The Temple Sinai Brotherhood in New Orleans will have its annual Brotherhood Bingo fundraiser on May 9, starting at 5:30 p.m. The evening will include a silent auction. Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for children.

The Judaica shop at Shir Chadash in Metairie will close permanently on May 31. All existing merchandise is at least 50 percent off. The shop is open by appointment only, contact Pat Klein, (504) 737-6891 or Sandy Burstein, (504) 8347600.

8 Southern Jewish Life • May 2015

NOLA

agenda

Choose your own path.

Deadline nears for JCRS college aid May 31 is the deadline for Jewish youth in a seven-state region to access “needs-based” financial assistance for undergraduate college programs.

For the 2015-16 academic year, the college program at New Orleans-based Jewish Children’s Regional Service will assist over 100 students.

Applications received by the deadline will receive priority funding and those received after that date will be considered if funds are still available.

The JCRS has been providing social services, care and funding to the Jewish youth from the states of Alabama. Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas since 1855. It is the oldest Jewish children’s agency in the United States, having recently celebrated its 160th anniversary.

Each year, over 300 Jewish youth receive scholarships to non-profit Jewish sleepaway summer camps, also based on financial need. Virtually all 2015 camp scholarship awards have been made, but JCRS will still consider some hardship funding for this summer.

While late applications to the JCRS education or camp scholarship programs are not eligible for maximum awards, applications for the special needs program are accepted throughout the year.

Today, there are numerous lay leaders and professionals throughout the United States who were assisted as youth by JCRS. Many stories about these individuals appear on the JCRS website.

Applications are available online by accessing the agency’s website at www.jcrs.org or by calling (800) 729-5277.

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The National Federation of Temple Youth had its Southern Region Spring Conclave at the Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica the weekend of April 17.

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May 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 9

agenda Shalomfest celebrates 125 years of Temple Shalom’s building in Lafayette

FA M I LY

EYE

CENTER

Temple Shalom in Lafayette will have Shalomfest the weekend of May 17 as part of its celebration of 125 years in its current location. The evening of May 17 will include a series of short Judaic movies. The afternoon of May 18 will be a celebration of Jewish heritage through music, food and crafts, open to the community. Details had not been announced as of press time.

Numerous Jews from France settled in Vermilionville, which was renamed Lafayette in 1884. In 1869 Governor Alexander Mouton gave the Jewish community land for a cemetery. The congregation, Rodeph Sholom, was organized in 1881, with Mouton again donating land, this time for a synagogue building. The building was constructed in 1889. Originally Orthodox, the congregation soon became Reform.

Over the decades the synagogue was remodeled. After 1960 the community became much larger thanks to the oil industry. Rodeph Sholom added a social hall and kitchen in 1953, and a rabbi’s study and library in 1960.

In 1973 a small group desiring more traditional services broke away and established Yeshurun Synagogue, which nevertheless also affiliated with the Reform movement. In 1992, the congregations reunited and changed the name to Temple Shalom. They decided to retain the historic building downtown and a couple of years ago sold the Yeshurun building.

Today there are roughly 65 families in the membership, and the congregation is served by Rabbi Barry Weinstein of Baton Rouge. Joint programs are regularly held with the Jewish communities of Lake Charles and Alexandria.

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On March 19, Rabbi Arnold Task was honored with the Lifetime of Service Award at the Alexandria Human Relations Day. The breakfast at the Alexandria Convention Hall is sponsored by the Alexandria Human Relations Commission. Each year, the commission honors individuals and organizations for enriching the lives of people in Alexandria by their actions in the areas of community service, education, music and arts contributions. The group is continuing its work to help in the creation of a Civil Rights Memorial Park to pay tribute to civil rights heroes. Pictured here are Judy Task and Rabbi Arnold Task with City Council members Harry Silver and Lee Rubin, both members of Gemiluth Chassodim.

L’Shanah Tovah

10 Southern Jewish Life • May 2015

Anti-Semitic acts up nationally, remain rare in Deep South The Anti-Defamation League’s annual audit of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States spiked 21 percent in 2014 “in a year marked by a violent anti-Semitic shooting attack targeting Jewish community buildings in Kansas and anti-Jewish expressions linked to the war in Gaza.”

Despite the increase, the ADL noted that the 912 incidents still represents one of the lowest totals since the audit began in 1979.

In the Deep South, instances of anti-Semitism remained relatively rare. In the New Orleans region, which includes Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas, there were seven reported incidents, up from five in 2013.

“While it is notable that anti-Semitic numbers are historically low, including in our region,” said Nancy Timm, ADL Regional Board Chair, “the great increase from last year is certainly upsetting. 2014 was a year that put all Jews on alert, and we all have much work to do to speak up against hate.”

The Atlanta office, which serves Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee, reported 22 incidents, up from 14 in 2013.

Nationally there were 36 assaults on Jews or individuals believed to be Jewish, up from 31 in 2013. There were 363 cases of anti-Semitic vandalism, up from 315 the year before.

Harassment, threats and events accounted for 513 cases, up from 405 the previous year. Most of the incidents in the Deep South were in this category.

Another category is foreign hackers taking over Jewish websites, re-

placing them with Palestinian or pro-ISIS pages.

Alabama had one incident in the category of harassment. Last year the state had a total of five incidents.

Florida had 70 incidents, up slightly from 68 the year before. There were 50 harassment incidents, 19 vandalism reports and one assault.

In Mississippi there was one incident in the same category — last September, Rabbi Ted Riter, interim rabbi of Beth Israel in Jackson, was kicked out of a restaurant for being Jewish. The incident drew national attention and led to a meeting between Riter and the restaurant owner a few days later.

In 2013 there also was just one reported incident in Mississippi.

Louisiana’s three reported incidents were also in the harassment category, up from two last year. The Louisiana incidents included ongoing threatening phone calls and mail sent to Jewish agencies, and anti-Semitic letters to the editor and “hateful” online responses.

Arkansas had one incident of vandalism, as a Neo-Nazi group keyed swastikas into a car parked in front of a home. There were also two incidents of harassment, including an anti-Semitic verbal attack on a teacher by a student.

“The incidents in our region in 2014 were particularly disturbing,” said Allison Padilla-Goodman, ADL Regional Director. “While Jews generally live well in the South and we have certainly come a long way these past few decades, the anti-Semitic incidents that have occurred in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas are sharp and a clear reminder that it is not a phenomenon of the past.”

May 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 11

Above, the Rabbinic Council does an Israel Memorial Day program.

Below, Nancy Spielberg fields questions after the screening.

“Above and Beyond” uplifts Israel Independence Day crowd

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12 Southern Jewish Life • May 2015

In a convergence of storylines, the Jewish community of New Orleans celebrated Israel Independence Day by watching a film about American volunteers who created the Israeli Air Force out of spare planes and daring, with the film’s producer on hand to discuss the film in a museum that her family has been involved with since before it opened.

Nancy Spielberg’s “Above and Beyond” was the attraction at the National World War II Museum on April 22, and the screening was repeated the following night for the general public.

Spielberg said she was “so humbled” to have her film at the museum, that “if I didn’t have to speak to you I’d be crying in the corner.”

She was inspired to produce “Above and Beyond” after reading a 2011 obituary for Al Schwimmer, who was credited with being a founder of the Israeli Air Force. She researched the story of U.S. and Canadian pilots, World War II veterans, who were inspired to fight for Israel’s independence despite the risk of losing their U.S. citizenship because of an administration embargo through the U.S. Neutrality Act. The pilots — both Jews and non-Jews — trained and coordinated in secret to stay ahead of the FBI and played a critical role in repelling five invading Arab armies in 1948 after Israel declared independence.

Some of them wound up flying repurposed Nazi planes, which had been abandoned in Czechoslovakia, that they had tried to shoot down a few years earlier.

The evening began with a reception and a brief Israel Memorial Day service by the Rabbinic Council of Greater New Orleans. Rabbi Robert Loewy of Gates of Prayer read Psalm 126 for Israeli soldiers missing in action. Cantor David Mintz of Touro Synagogue did the memorial prayer for the 23,085 Israelis killed in war or terrorist incidents since 1860, and Beth Israel Rabbi Gabe Greenberg led the Kaddish.

Nick Mueller, president and CEO of the museum, noted the Spielberg family’s involvement with the museum.

The Omaha Beach gallery is named after Arnold Spielberg, now 98, who was communications chief of the 490th “Skull and Wings” Bombardment Squadron, known as the “Burma Bridge Busters.”

Mueller said he was in Los Angeles for Arnold Spielberg’s 97th birthday and heard about the documentary. Nancy Spielberg told him to wait until it was finished to see whether he would want to show it at the museum.

“Of course we want to have it,” he said.

Arnold Spielberg was originally slated to attend the screening but did not receive medical clearance to travel. He has been to numerous screenings, and Nancy Spielberg said he is “shepping nachas like you wouldn’t believe,

May 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 13

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14 Southern Jewish Life • May 2015

and not just for Steven,” her famous filmdirecting brother.

Mueller told the crowd that the Liberation Pavilion, the museum’s next expansion, will include a Holocaust education component while exploring “the meaning of the war… why did 65 million people die during that war, most of them civilians? What did they die for?”

The Holocaust will be discussed in the context of the war as part of the Road to Berlin exhibit, he said. “We discover the Holocaust and the camps as the GIs begin to open the gates.”

For younger visitors, the “And Then They Came For Me” gallery will tell the story of Anne Frank. Groundbreaking is scheduled for next year, with completion in 2017 or 2018.

Alan Franco, past president of the New Orleans Federation, introduced Spielberg. He reflected on the challenges Israel faced 67 years ago as well as today, given that he had just hours earlier flown back from Washington, where he had a briefing on the S-300 missile system that Russia is planning to give to Iran.

Franco said “Above and Beyond” was done “from a position of love” and he sees it also as a “documentary about her father.”

Spielberg wanted “Above and Beyond” to be entirely about the veterans and not a political piece, giving the pilots their moment to shine.

Noting that she now has “a bunch of 90-yearold boyfriends” she said the veterans “deserve to be heard.” One of the highlights for her has been screenings in the hometowns of some of the pilots, with their descendants in attendance.

She watches the children as they watch their father on the screen.

Two of the pilots in the film have died since their interviews. “We captured a story that would have been gone,” she said.

While working on the film, having her last name opened many doors, but not all. Because they had access to very few planes, they needed to do computer generated imagery for some of the scenes with multiple planes.

She called George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic and they agreed to do it pro bono. She wasn’t as lucky with one of her best resources — the Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive in Israel, where she “had to pay full price” for footage.

For those who haven’t seen the film, it became available on iTunes and streaming services on April 28. Eventually she wants to give it away and hopes it will be seen on college campuses.

The iTunes version will have extras, including a piece about the Sonneborn Institute, a secret group that sent money and armaments to Israel in 1948, including funding the purchase of airplanes, and whose members included Abe Berkowitz of Birmingham.

The film has been at numerous film festivals, and Spielberg asserted that in South Florida, “Above and Beyond” outdid “50 Shades of Grey.”

“We knew the demographics,” she said.

Making a statement Declare Your Freedom, the third annual pro-Zionist festival in New Orleans, was held at Tulane University on April 12, with Matisyahu as headliner. Chloe Valdary, one of the organizers, said the aim of the festival is to show the indigenous roots of the Jewish people in the land of Israel, and to present the positive story of Israel. She added that one fascinating aspect was that the majority of those who braved the rain to attend weren’t Jewish.

Among the speakers were (below): Ryan Bellerose, an Aboriginal activist from Calgary; Kasim Hafeez, a British Muslim with Pakistani roots; Pastor Dumisani Washington from California, and Izzy Ezagui, a Miami native who lost an arm fighting for Israel.

Also performing were the Rebirth Brass Band and the Ori Naftaly Band.

Photo by Lauren Clarice Cross

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May 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 15

community JCRS Chanukah Gift Program receives major sponsor For 2015 and beyond, the Chanukah Gift Program of the Jewish Children’s Regional Service, which provides holiday gifts to the neediest and easiest overlooked Jewish children residing in the seven-state service district of the agency, will now have its major expenses underwritten by a grant from the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust.

The Chanukah Gift Program, which will be in its 18th year this winter, currently serves approximately 200 Jewish minors and residents of state institutions. Each recipient receives eight small gifts, one for each night of Chanukah. Thousands of gifts are annually wrapped by hundreds of volunteers. Before Chanukah, gift boxes are shipped to the homes of families and to state institutions, while other packages of gifts are delivered by volunteers or picked up at the JCRS offices.

“We are quite pleased to be able to honor the memory and charitable interests of the late Oscar J. Tolmas by underwriting the costs of valuable programs such as this,” explained Trustees Vince Giardina and Lisa Romano. “Oscar Tolmas wanted his legacy to serve those with the greatest of needs, and these individuals, like our veterans, need to be remembered and served.”

This was one of three grants made by the Trust to the major programs at the agency, which is headquartered in New Orleans and serves as the oldest Jewish children’s agency in the United States. New, permanent scholarship funds at JCRS have now been established in the name of Oscar J. Tolmas in the Special Needs Program and in the Education Program.

The special needs program is a unique service, which underwrites the care and treatment of the most developmentally challenged and dependent Jewish youth in the region. The education program provides financial assistance to Jewish undergraduate college students from the region.

In each of these programs, awards to youth are based on documented financial need.

Tolmas died December 2, 2013, at the age of 93. The New Orleans native served as a Naval Officer during World War II. Upon discharge, he pursued several career paths, including law, real estate development and horse racing. He served for several years on the Louisiana State Racing Commission and as chairman for four years in the early 1990s. In 2013, he was honored by the Louisiana Bar Association as a 70-year member, having graduated in 1943 from Tulane University Law School.

JCRS is the only regional Jewish children’s agency in the United States.

The organization was created in New Orleans in 1855, in response to the periodic local yellow fever epidemics, and it served as the first home in the U.S. for Jewish widows and orphans. For the last 70 years, JCRS has operated as a social service agency for Jewish children and youth, and it annually provides needs-based scholarships to over 500 Jewish youth for special needs, college aid, and the overnight camp experience. Through various outreach programs, including the Chanukah Gift Program, JCRS serves another 1,000 Jewish youth annually.

“If one sees the notes, emails and letters of gratitude that JCRS receives throughout the year, the reader would get a sense of the impact that JCRS makes on the lives of children and youth,” explained JCRS Executive Director Ned Goldberg. “Many of the kids we serve have physical, educational, or emotional challenges, while others have families that have suffered through significant turmoil. The job of our staff is not only to help youth by providing guidance and scholarship opportunities, but it is also to provide the message to the parents and children that they are not forgotten by the Jewish community. These generous grants from the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust go a long way in transmitting that exact message, while fulfilling the ideals that Oscar stood for.”

More information: jcrs.org 16 Southern Jewish Life • May 2015

May 2015 • The Jewish Newsletter 17

18 The Jewish Newsletter • May 2015

From Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans Rhythm & Soul 2015 Fundraiser!

Jewish Family Service Spring 2015 Continuing Education Workshops

Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans will honor mother and daughter Marjorie Bissinger and Nancy Bissinger-Timm for its annual fundraiser, Rhythm & Soul on Sunday, May 31. The event will be held at the Audubon Tea Room and will include a Patron Reception from 5 to 6 p.m. followed by dinner from 6 to 8 p.m. Buy your tickets today! http://www. jfsrhythmandsoul.org/donate.html.

Register today for our last Continuing Education workshop offered through JFS. The session will take place at Shir Chadash Synagogue, 3737 West Esplanade Avenue, Metairie, and on-site parking is available to all registrants.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression Friday, May 22, 8:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m. presented by Marie T. O’Neil, LCSW approved for 3 CEUs (Diagnosis)

Staff Announcements Lauren Miller, who has been working on contract for Teen Life Counts with JFS, will be spending more time with us this summer as a staff Therapist and Case Manager, while continuing her responsibilities with TLC. Lauren graduated from Duke University and received her Masters in Social Work from Tulane University with a Disaster Mental Health certificate. She is the founder of the campus’ counseling program at Christ Episcopal School and currently serves as their guidance counselor.

Pre-Registration (up to 24 hours before the workshop): $60 for 1 event, $110 for 2 events ($10 discount) Day-of Registration: $70 per event

This program has been approved for Continuing Education Hours by the Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners and may be applied toward the continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. It also meets the requirements for CEUs for the Louisiana Counseling Association.

Register today by phone at (504) 831-8475, ext. 120, or online at http://www.jfsneworleans.org/spring-2015-workshops/.

Jewish Family Service is participating in GiveNOLA Day. See page 5 for details on regular giving and an opportunity to dedicate a mezuzah in the new JFS office!

From Tulane Hillel Career Panel

composition, how to prep, how to do an interview, and how to follow up, etc.

In the question and answer session, the panelists gave helpful tips regarding the kind of questions an interviewer might ask, and advice on how an applicant could make his or her cover letter and resume stand out. Many thanks to the panelists for helping the Tulane students get ready to enter the workforce!

On April 12, the second session of a two-part career panel took place at the Mintz Center. With graduation and summer internship opportunities around the corner, the program was created in order to give students a more accessible way of getting help with applying for jobs and internships. This particular program gave students an opportunity to get in the heads of the interviewer, or the person on the other side of the desk, in order to clear up any questions, confusion, or offer insight into the daunting process of interviewing.

There were over 50 student participants and 5 Human Resources specialists that spoke on the panel, including: Joan Mollohan, formerly at Ochsner; Jordan Friedman, Bond PR; Anne Heaviside, McGlinchey Stafford Law Firm; Bethany Paulsen, The Tipitina’s Foundation; John Jeremiah, JP Morgan Chase.

The panelists spoke on areas such as resume and cover letter

Collective Visions 2015 On April 14, Tulane Hillel transformed into a gallery featuring art from some of Tulane’s most talented students for the second annual Collective Visions Art Show. Curated by seniors Emma Fastenberg and Madeline Rose, the show featured more than 80 works of art in a variety of media (painting, sculpture, ceramics, film and photography) from 38 student artists, showcased with opportunity to purchase. Attendees snacked on items from Frencheeze food truck and enjoyed the acoustic performance of sophomore Aaron Cohen as artist Max Cron painted live throughout the event.

May 2015 • The Jewish Newsletter 19

From the Jewish Endowment Foundation JEF to Honor Outstanding Community Leaders at 2015 Annual Event The Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana will honor sever- demonstrating extraordinary concern for the needs of the New Orleal exceptional members of the New Orleans Jewish community at its ans Jewish community through wise counsel.

Annual Event on Sunday, June 14 at noon.

David Kushner is a Certified Public AcBeverly and Lester Waincountant and Certified Forensic Accouner will receive the Tzedakah tant. His 40-plus years of experience inAward, which is given for unclude income taxation of individuals, corselfish, meaningful service to porations, partnerships, trusts, and estates; the community, especially to tax planning for high wealth individuals and through JEF. and closely held businesses; and personal Beverly and Lester met in financial planning. In 1987, he was recogSeptember 1955 in the Founnized as one of the best tax practitioners in tain Lounge in the Roosevelt the New Orleans area by Money Magazine.

Hotel, each with another date.

David gets great gratification from helpThe following May, Beverly ing his clients achieve their philanthropic was in New Orleans and they goals. He said, “We are most fortunate to have a client group that is reconnected. Four months very interested in charitable causes. Their gifts, thoughts, kindness, later in September 1956 they and generosity lead to helping many causes in many ways. We are so married in Beverly’s homefortunate to know them and have the opportunity to be of service to town of Atlanta and have lived “happily ever after” for 59 years. They them. It is fun when they can see their gifts accomplishing so much consider themselves two of the most fortunate people in the world. for so many. Very special people.”

Lester was born in New Orleans to Hannah Lichtenstein and HarMark Stein is a Board Certified Tax Spery Wainer. Harry had come to New Orleans from Vilna, Lithuania in cialist, who practices in the tax, corporate 1887 at the age of 15. One day, riding a streetcar on Rampart Street, and commercial law area, and has extensive Harry spied a pretty girl, Hannah, in front of Lichtenstein’s Shoe experience in taxation, estate planning, Store and the rest is history. They had seven children; Lester was state and local tax matters, real estate, corthe youngest. Lester’s mother died when he was nine and his oldest porate, limited liability company and entity brother, Uri, and his other siblings became his mentors. At various formation and planning, and mergers and times, Lester lived with different family members. The Wainers were acquisitions. He is recognized as one of the a close family and remain so today. They set a wonderful example and leading tax lawyers in the New Orleans lepassed it down to future generations. gal community.

Lester and his brothers and sisters joined their father’s raw fur busiMark is an active member of the Louiness at early ages and from there went on to start other successful siana State Bar Association, having served ventures. Lester’s nephew, Harold, and their son, Bruce, are the third as chairman of the Committee of Taxation and the Taxation Spegeneration to be active in the business and Josh, Bruce’s son, is the cialization Board. He has served on the boards of various charitable fourth generation. organizations and is a past president of Temple Sinai, and is a fellow Beverly was the first of three girls born in Atlanta to Minette Ep- in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. stein and John Smith. Minette’s parents were first generation AmeriMark states, “As professionals and participants in charitable orgacans and met in Memphis, Tenn. John’s parents met in London and nizations, we can engender higher contributions of both time and married in 1892. money by the entire community not only to Jewish charities but to all As a married couple, Beverly and Lester immediately became in- charities that benefit a wide variety of needs and causes. The Jewish volved in the Jewish community. They have served on synagogue and Endowment Foundation serves as an extremely efficient and permayouth group boards, Willow Wood, B’nai B’rith and JEF boards. nent foundation for serving the philanthropic goals of all of us and Beverly was co-chair of the Touro Hospital Gift Shop and both were of the many beneficiaries of its grants.” involved with the Jewish Welfare Fund. Lester was one of three men Mark established a Donor Advised Fund at JEF in 2014 and is chair from New Orleans invited to Israel to meet with Golda Meir, al- of JEF’s Professional Advisors Steering Committee. though he was unable to go.

David and Mark are both members of JEF’s Board of Directors.

Beverly and Lester opened a donor advised fund in 1986. In 2011 Dr. Michael Wasserman will be honored they donated that fund to JEF’s General Fund. They also made a donation to fund the Visiting Professor of Jewish Studies Program at with the JFNA Endowment Achievement Loyola University in JEF’s name. They opened another donor advised Award, which recognizes a lay leader who has championed the cause of planned givfund in 2012. Beverly has also endowed her Lion of Judah at JEF. Beverly and Lester, their children and grandchildren have set an ing and endowments.

Mike has been active in the New Orleans example of tzedekah and leadership for our Jewish community. The entire Wainer family has been and continues to be outstanding, quiet Jewish community for many years, most philanthropists. In the truest sense of charitable giving, they have notably as President of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans from 2007 to shared their good fortune and enriched our Jewish community.

The Young Family Award for Professional Excellence will be pre- 2009. During his term in the challenging sented to David Kushner and Mark Stein. This award is given for post-Katrina era, the community under20 The Jewish Newsletter • May 2015

took an intensive stabilization and rebuilding process.

Having established his own permanent legacy, he is an ardent supporter of JEF’s Create A Jewish Legacy program. Mike says, “Working closely with JEF after Katrina, I saw how essential a strong endowment is to our community. The $1.5 million dollar grant to Federation and our synagogues from JEF’s General Fund was crucial to our recovery. On a personal level, my wife, Lynne, and I have made a commitment to endow our annual campaign gifts. It is gratifying to know that through JEF our support will continue in perpetuity.”

The Helen A. Mervis Jewish Community Professional Award will be presented to Sharon Pollin, Head of School of the Jewish Community Day School. Sharon is a passionate educator with both secular and Judaic credentials.

Sharon is dedicated to the Day School’s mission of providing a firstclass secular and Jewish education to its students. She has been instru-

mental in retaining longtime, top quality teachers and recruiting new highly accredited and experienced Jewish faculty members dedicated to ensuring educational excellence. She also is working to reinforce the established community partnerships with such organizations as the Jewish Community Center, Jewish Children’s Regional Service, PJ Library, Jewish Family Service, and our community’s synagogues.

Sharon said JCDS “is a beautiful school that has been nurtured by this community for 19 years. Students, teachers and parents are a daily source of inspiration and the devotion of the Board, along with the support of the entire Greater New Orleans Jewish community, is a true gift.”

The Annual Event will be a kosher-style brunch at the Westin Canal Place Hotel. Reservations are $55 each; a table of 10 is $550.

Patron level tickets are $125 each. Patrons will be listed in the event program. “We are looking forward to a wonderful event with very special honorees,” said Annual Event chair Andi Lestelle.

JEF president Richard Cahn states, “We are fortunate to have such dedicated community leaders. We are pleased to be able to honor their contributions to JEF and our Jewish community.”

From the Jewish Community Center JCC SUMMER DAY CAMPS Summer fun is around the corner! Beginning June 8, campers from 21 months to 8th grade will make new friends and great memories at the JCC Summer Day Camps. Both JCC locations offer Early Childhood and General Day Camps filled with all of the traditional camp activities, including swim instruction and daily free swim, as well as art, music, dance, science, cooking, drama, sports, games and much more!

Additionally, the Uptown JCC offers two Sports Camps. Active campers entering grades 3 to 5 will have a ball at Sports Camp playing soccer, basketball, flag football and baseball.

They will develop their skills, learn sportsmanship and enjoy friendly competition while also getting to swim and participate in lots of fun summer camp activities. At Tennis Camp, older campers entering grades 6 to 8 will learn tennis fundamentals with skills, drills and games in the morning, and will have a blast in the afternoon swimming and hanging out with their friends at the Uptown JCC. Taglit, a camp geared towards the interests and busy schedules of students entering grades 6 to 8, is held at the Goldring-Woldenberg JCC in Metairie. Taglit means “discovery,” and each week offers a different theme and the opportunity to discover a new interest. Options include Filmmaking, Culinary Sweets, Strength and Conditioning, Color Wars, Tennis, Adventure Trips, Portraits, caricatures, Masks, and It’s Not All Rocket Science. Local experts lend their experience and knowledge to an already fun-filled camp experience. Teens will work with a specialist in their chosen field each morning and enjoy other camp activities like swimming, sports, and “Hang Time,” each afternoon. A $100 discount is offered for campers who register for four or more weeks of Taglit, or all four weeks of Tennis Camp.

Visit www.nojcc.org for more details about the JCC Summer Day Camps and to register online.

CONGRATULATIO N

S CH

AMPIONS! Congratulations to All About That Ba 2015 Kicking for K se, winners of the ids kickball tourna ment. They will rece a pool party for 50 ive at the Uptown JCC . Special thanks to Herman, Herman lead & Katz for sponso ring the event and Reginelli’s Pizza an to d Crescent Crown Distributing for ge ously providing the nerpizza and the beer.

Tournament procee benefit the JCC Su ds mmer Day Camps scholarship fund.

DONATIONS GO FURTHER ON MAY 5 Move over Cinco de Mayo. This May 5, celebrate the important role non-profits play in strengthening our community by participating in GiveNOLA Day. This GiveNOLA Day, remember all of the reasons you and your family love the J! See page 5 for details.

May 2015 • The Jewish Newsletter 21

From the Jewish Community Day School West Coast Speech/Language Pathologist provides unique pro bono service to New Orleans Jewish Community Linda Brownstein (“Mateh Esther”), a Speech and Language Pathologist from Portland, Ore., came to New Orleans to share her expertise, on a pro bono basis, with Jewish Community Day School and the Jewish community through an Educational Teamwork Residency in Speech, Language and Literacy Readiness.

While here, Mateh Esther held three community programs for young parents — Speech Screenings, a Parent Workshop and JCDS Jewish Babies Club.

Nearly a dozen parents registered their children for a free 30-minute speech screening of their child’s speech and articulation, and their child’s development and literacy benchmarks.

She conducted a free Parent Workshop “The Mateh Esther works with JCDS 1st grade student Giana Harris.

Magic of Moving in

Mateh Esther with parents and JCDS board member Hugo Kahn at the JCDS Jewish Babies Club monthly meeting.

Natural Time: From Early Childhood to Early Literacy,” an interactive forum and discussion where participants explored developmentally appropriate frameworks that support children’s speech, language, literacy and social growth.

Mateh Esther also led the monthly Jewish Babies Club, “One Word at a Time” promoting language development geared toward parents and their children three years of age and under.

Finally, she spent each day in JCDS classrooms observing lessons and helping shape moments that enhanced students’ opportunity for communication with their teacher and peers. She spent valuable quality time assessing the literacy levels of JCDS 1st and 2nd graders and gave teachers activities to help open lines of communication during classMateh Esther works with 5th Grade time.

JCDS teacher Aleeza Adelman

Jewish Babies Club End of the Year Swim Party All babies, three years of age and younger, and their parents are invited to a swim party with the Jewish Community Day School as the Pre-K through 5th grade celebrate the last day of school. The JCDS Jewish Babies Club end of year swim party will be held on Friday, May 29 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the JCC Pool Area on the Goldring Woldenberg Jewish Campus in Metairie. Babies are invited to swim in the baby pool with their parents, eat watermelon and play water games. This program is free and open to the Jewish Community of Greater New Orleans. RSVP to Lungar@jcdsnola.org to attend.

The JCDS Jewish Babies Club will continue monthly in June and July. Look for Summer Club updates on www. jcdsnola.org.

22 The Jewish Newsletter • May 2015

May 2015 • The Jewish Newsletter 23

24 The Jewish Newsletter • May 2015

real estate/homes

Granite Transformations delivers a no-maintenance, low-worry countertop

MARY ROONEY INTERIOR DIMENSIONS

by Lee J. Green

Mary Rooney, ASID, RID 205.305.1915 www.maryrooneyinteriors.com

Granite Transformations of Alabama offers countertops that are on top, literally and figuratively.

Owner Brandon Plowden said the countertops are durable, stain and scratch resistant but also thin and lightweight. They go on top of existing surfaces and can usually be installed in one day.

“Our products are designed in Europe and offer elegance coupled with functionality. They are heat-resistant up to 500 degrees and have a lifetime warranty. Plus our countertops never have to be resealed,” said Plowden, who leads Granite Transformations with his wife, Darcie. They can do jobs across all of the Southern Jewish Life coverage area.

Granite Transformations started in Italy and came to the United States 12 years ago and has been operating in Alabama for 11 years. The company’s products are created by grinding up granite, quartz or recycled glass, then cooking it to create a new solid material. The end result is thinner but stronger than traditional granite and quartz. Instead of being porous, it’s solid and sturdy.

The company offers product and installation on granite countertops, recycled glass countertops, quartz countertops, mosaic tiles and cabinet re-facing. “The countertops have zero porosity and are FDA-approved for food preparation as well as for hospitals and labs. Plus that makes them easy to clean. For cleaning, you just need to use warm water and liquid soap,” said Plowden.

The thin design also allows the product to be installed easily on top of existing countertops with no demolition required. The experts at Granite Transformations provide a quick turnaround. Ninety percent of installs are completed in one day, but that won’t be the first time they visit a customer’s home. Instead of visiting a showroom with staged commercial lighting, a design consultant brings samples to the home, allowing the customer to select the product in the natural light of the kitchen or bathroom where it will be installed.

Granite Transformations offers many customization options with several materials, styles and close to 75 different colors to choose from. With the glass product, they can also include such things as back-lighting.

“Most of the work is kitchen and bathroom countertops,” added Plowden.

“But we have also done some fireplaces and outdoor kitchens. The product is beautiful and durable.”

To learn more about Granite Transformations, visit gtalabama.com or call 866-437-6884.

Latter & Blum continues growth in New Orleans, Gulf Coast Latter & Blum is leading the way in New Orleans growth and the area market continues to report strong home sales numbers.

The real estate company began in 1916 when Harry Latter and Joseph E. Bloom founded a commercial real estate company. Latter & Blum has since expanded and branches out to include residential sales, remaining in the Latter family for 70 years. In 1986, Robert W. Merrick purchased

May 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 25

real estate/homes Closeout Pricing on the new Mazda 3 for 2014!

New Skyactiv engine delivers the best fuel economy in its class!

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the company and in recent years it has expanded its geographic footprint as well.

The company is now the largest full-service real estate brokerage in the Gulf South with over 1,400 agents and operations in greater New Orleans, Lake Charles, Greater Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Alexandria and Southern Mississippi. It is Louisiana’s first and only $1 billion real estate company, as well as the 34th largest brokerage in the country. Latter & Blum handles all phases of residential, commercial, leasing, property management, appraisals, mortgage and title services.

Alabama Gaslight and Grill offers tips for selecting a new grill Alabama Gaslight & Grill wants to help outdoor grilling enthusiasts get cooking as the warm weather leads to more “outdoor chefs.”

The company has been serving the greater Birmingham area for more than 40 years with the latest in grills, gaslights, electric gas logs and fireplaces, space heaters and other related products.

For those in the market for a new grill, Alabama Gaslight and Grill offers some help on making the selection.

Their most popular grill choice is a natural gas grill, according to owner Mike Barnett. They are popular because of convenience — natural gas grills can be connected to a customer’s existing residential gas line so there is a continuous gas feed.

When looking for a gas grill, think about how many people one will be cooking for and what kinds of food one is preparing. This information will help in the selection of the grill size and the proper cooking grids.

Gas grills are made from a variety of materials including cast aluminum, stainless steel, powder coated steel, porcelain steel. Alabama Gaslight and Grill recommends high-quality cast aluminum grills that will last for many years. Modern Home Products gas grills, based in Antioch, Ill., offers cast aluminum grills that can last for decades.

Ceramic grills are very popular today and use lump hardwood charcoal as the fuel source. These grills are built to provide a wide range of cooking temperatures from 200 to 850 degrees. They can be used as smokers cooking foods at very low temperatures over several hours or at very high temperatures for steaks. The thermal dynamics of these grills allow both moisture and heat to remain in the grill while cooking.

Purchase a grill from a retailer than can support the grill well after the sale. Many of their grills come with limited lifetime warranties. They also maintain a large supply of gas grill parts.

Today the grill industry has created many different and unique grilling tools. Everything from basic grilling tools to digital thermometers and wood chips to burger presses help make the grilling experience fun and easy.

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26 Southern Jewish Life • May 2015

by Lee J. Green Remodeling kitchens and baths are two of the best ways to add value to a home. But when it comes to styles and colors for remodeling, the trend is to not be too trendy.

“I usually recommend going with something that is more timeless with styles and colors if you are thinking about a remodeling so you can sell your house within the next few years,” said Christopher Youngs, owner and founder of Birmingham’s BMR Homes, Inc. Remodeling and Restoration.

“You don’t want to get too wild or trendy if you are looking to sell the house in the near future.”

For many years, Youngs’ father was a home builder and remodeler in New Orleans. Ever since he was 8 years old, Christopher helped his dad every summer on projects and learned the trade from a young age.

Youngs graduated from the University of New Orleans with a degree in Real Estate and Finance. He would later move to Birmingham, starting up BMR Homes in 2004, named for his oldest daughter, Brittany, wife Michelle

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and youngest daughter Reagan.

“This is in my blood and it is what I enjoy. I started out buying, fixing up and selling real estate… but these days we focus almost exclusively on remodeling,” he said. BMR is licensed in Alabama, but he said Mississippi and Louisiana could be a possibility as well if interest warrants.

For kitchens and baths, Youngs recommends a budget for the projects based on the home value and home values in the neighborhood. “You want to do something that fits well with the home, the area and something that will get a good return on investment,” he added.

BMR Homes works on everything from roofs to new windows to full house repainting to heated floor systems. But Youngs said the most common project is a kitchen remodel.

“People want to beautify the kitchen and, for example, have us knock down a wall to open it up more. The kitchen is the room the whole family gathers in together more than any other usually,” he said.

BMR Homes also has its own cabinet line — Timberlake. Youngs said the cabinets are all made in the United States by a Virginia-based company and come in a variety of colors, styles and types of materials.

Youngs advises that people pick a contractor to design and lay out the project based on what the person is seeking. “If they do that with us, we do it at a small fee. Then when they bid it to us and others, they have something that clearly lays out what they are wanting so they can compare estimates in apples to apples terms. That way they can really be on the same page with the contractor they choose,” he said.

Youngs said they are happy to provide as much education as they can to clients and prospective clients. There are 61 pages worth of helpful information that can be viewed at www.bmrhomes.net.

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by Lee J. Green Peristyle Residences in the New Orleans area fills a niche for seniors in need of care by providing room, board and care much like larger assisted-living facilities but in a smaller, more personal setting.

“It’s a true home experience. These are actual homes anywhere from four to eight seniors live in together with around-the-clock care. Thus we can provide all the care, companionship and socialization a senior wants and needs,” said co-owner Sean Arrillaga. “We serve those who can no longer safely live at home but who do not need or do not prefer more institutional settings such as large assisted living facilities and nursing homes.”

Because each home has at most a one-to-four caregiver to resident ratio, seniors and caregivers living in the homes develop strong companionships.

“The residents and the caregivers become like family,” added Arrillaga.

He and co-owner Jason Hemel together have more than 30 years of healthcare and living experience including nursing home and assisted living administration, home health and hospice management, nursing care and nurse education. Both are from and went to school in New Orleans.

In 2011, they started Peristyle Residences. There are now three residences in Metairie, one in the West Bank and one in Lakeview, with more planned in the near-term. Three of the houses are at capacity with eight residents, with one having six residents and another seven residents currently.

“We purchased these homes in nice communities and in each one put at least $100,000 in enhancements to meet all ADA requirements as well as

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May 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 27

real estate/homes

the needs of our senior residents,” said Arrillaga.

The homes were also selected for the flow of the house — no laundry room next to a kitchen; no bathrooms in which someone would have to go through another bedroom to access, and so forth.

Peristyle Residences offers family-style meals geared toward specific nutrition requirements and likes of residents, social activities such as bingo, gardening, cooking, arts and crafts, playing cards, cognitive activities and assistance with all Activities of Daily Living.

“The beauty of it is that this is all resident-directed care. There are no set meal times and they can choose the activities that interest them the most.

The care and service is customized. Residents can also decorate their rooms any way they want to,” said Arrillaga.

He said there is a current market demand for senior living services and within 10 years many of the 76 million Baby Boomers will require or seek senior living services.

“We feel we are reaching the most underserved market,” said Arrillaga.

“This is a great niche and we plan to grow this model as much as demand and resources allow.”

For Home Improvement month, tips on lowering power and water bills Since 1901, One Hour Air Conditioning and Heating, and Benjamin Franklin Plumbing have provided their customers with dependable products and service.

The Birmingham company also wants to help customers be energy efficient to lower power and water bills, as well as be proactive to prevent an emergency situation.

Adjust the temperature on your hot water heater According to Energy Star, by setting your hot water heater at 120 degrees or lower one can save energy and money. If it is set at 140 degrees or higher, it can waste up to $400 a year in standby and demand heat losses. One can also turn off the water heater when away on vacation to conserve energy.

Check for leaks Do a quick inventory of sinks, showers, toilets — and hoses outside a home. Make sure washers and gaskets are tight. The most common cause of a leaking toilet is often the inexpensive, rubber flapper. Check for wear and replace if needed. Remember plumbers have professional grade products that often last longer than store-bought parts.

Consider water saving and energy efficient upgrades Many new faucets, shower heads and toilets are low flow or have water conservation features. These can be easy to upgrade personally or with the help of a professional plumber. There are also new energy efficient options for water heaters.

Start small Sometimes small projects can have a big impact. Simple, inexpensive upgrades like installing a programmable thermostat or upgrading and repairing the weather stripping on windows and doors could help keep costs low.

It could also help keep the heat out as the warmer summer months arrive.

Air conditioning maintenance Make sure to change the filter on the air conditioning system once a month or as required by the system’s manufacturer. Also, make sure there are no plants or vegetation growing too close to outside units, and that no debris or leaves are in the unit itself. Vegetation can damage the unit, so carefully clean it out. Inside, make sure paint, cans and cleaning supplies are not stored near HVAC equipment. These can be flammable and hazardous.

Use fans Ceiling fans can help people keep cool and reduce the amount of AC usage. Just remember to turn off the fan when leaving the room. Ceiling fans cool people, not rooms. Also use bathroom fans and exhaust fans in the kitchen to help remove heat and humidity from a home.

SJL Online: sjlmag.com 28 Southern Jewish Life • May 2015

culture

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Fans of “Too Jewish” will want to open “Do Not Open” Many novels have a disclaimer that any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

With Patty Friedmann’s “Too Jewish” trilogy, not so much.

The New Orleans author releases the final installment of the trilogy, “Do Not Open for 50 Years” with a launch party at Garden District Book Shop on May 14 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

She said the series is “unabashedly autobiographical” in dealing with parents who have a complicated relationship and her growing up feeling like an outsider in the New Orleans Jewish community.

The trilogy’s roots came after Hurricane Katrina, when Julie Smith was developing an anthology of short stories, “New Orleans Noir.” She asked Friedmann for a story, but Friedmann protested that this was not her genre.

After Smith continued to urge her to expand her repertoire, she started to think of what would be the darkest place in New Orleans, and she came up with Newman School. “I wrote a story about mean girls, and it turned out to be the most dark story in the collection,” she said. The story was “Two-Story Brick Houses.”

Smith saw the story as the launch point for a novel, but instead of carrying the story forward from the 1960s, she carried it backwards.

“The girl in the story had a father who was a Holocaust survivor, so I went back into his history… that became ‘Too Jewish’,” she said. She called it “the story I was probably put on Earth to write.”

Friedmann’s father was a Holocaust survivor who had escaped Nazi Germany, leaving his mother behind. He wound up in New Orleans, married to a fifth-generation assimilated native.

“Too Jewish” was her way of saying “look what you did to him.” Her father grew up in an observant family in Europe, then wound up in New Orleans attending Temple Sinai, where “I don’t think anyone knew Hebrew. He had to push aside all of his upbringing to fit in.”

Between his traditional upbringing and having his education cut off at the eighth grade by the Nazi regime, “his in-laws definitely thought he was unacceptable.”

Nevertheless, she did a presentation several years ago at Temple Sinai, which she marveled had changed quite a bit since her father’s time. “Everybody was really sweet to me,” she said.

Reaction to the books from some of her mother’s family was “we love you anyway.”

She felt that in “Too Jewish” she was going to say everything she had to say. “I got a lot out of my system with that book.” Her 1991 work “The Exact Image of Mother” became “Too Jewish: The Next Generation,” the second part of the trilogy, then “Do Not Open” “let me deal a little bit more with the father and a lot more with the mother.”

In “Too Jewish,” the mother was sympathetic, having grown up “spoiled to the point of being beaten down by it.” She was loyal to her husband — but as soon as her husband died, “she winds up back in the thrall of her parents” and goes back to being self-centered.

She calls it “an unusual Holocaust story. Here is a man who escaped one form of prejudice only to learn of prejudice that comes from his own people in the mid-century Deep South.”

As the books continue, there is also the exploration of a daughter who comes from “that sort of mixed marriage” who is also “an outcast

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May 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 29

culture

in school,” where most of the Jewish kids go to Sunday School each weekend and view the few kids who go to the Conservative congregation and have Bat Mitzvahs to be less Jewish.

“Do Not Open” is set in recent times, as the daughter, Darby, has become a bestselling New Orleans author by writing about the tragedy of her father’s life.

The title comes from her father’s wishes to shield her from oral histories he did before his death in the early 1960s.

In “Do Not Open,” she feels ambivalence as her mother is missing after Katrina, her daughter returns from evacuating to Florida, bringing back a boyfriend who goes against everything Darby stands for in the second book.

While she struggles to get back on her feet after the storm, long-lost high school classmates resurface and want to reunite, despite their role in the death of Darby’s father decades earlier.

She is quick to explain one controversial passage in the new novel, where Darby slams the comparison of Hurricane Katrina to the Holocaust.

“I’m not making that comparison,” Friedmann said, but she has “personal autobiographical material that gives me a certain understanding” of a parallel.

Her father had left his mother behind in Europe because she did not want to believe what was happening, and he wrestled with survivor’s guilt. When Katrina hit, “I wouldn’t leave” but she sent her son — who was named for her father — to Houston, where he “cried for a week” until she was rescued.

After that, “for the first time I understood the whole mechanism of the relationship between my father and his mother,” she said. If she could speak to her father now, she would tell him that “a mother doesn’t think of anything but her son getting away safely, so you can forgive yourself ” for leaving.

“There is no real analogy between the two large catastrophies,” she said, “but on the personal level there is that small connection.”

Friedmann is also the author of “Too Smart to be Rich,” “Odds, “ “Taken Away,” “No Takebacks,” “Pick-Up Line,” “A Little Bit Ruined: Eleanor Rushing Meets Hurricane Katrina” and “Secondhand Smoke.” Another recent novel, “Through The Windshield: An Extremely Dark Comedy” comes with a money-back offer if readers find it too disturbing.

In 2011 “Taken Away” was a finalist for Book of the Year for small presses. In 2001–2002, she was writer-in-residence at Tulane University.

She said “Do Not Open” closes out the story of Darby, “unless I want to live another 30 years, which I haven’t figured out yet.”

30 Southern Jewish Life • May 2015

May 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 31

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Catherine Cahn, daughter of Sarah and Cory Cahn, at Temple Sinai, New Orleans, on March 14.

Isabella Dalto Muslow, daughter of Christina and Jason Muslow, at B’nai Zion, Shreveport, on March 14.

Jamie Grace Perlman, daughter of Lauren Perlman and Marc Perlman, at Temple Emanu-El, Birmingham, on March 14.

Yehuda Benyamin Potash, son of Michelle and Mordecai Potash, at Touro Synagogue, New Orleans, on March 21.

Marley Aamodt, daughter of Jodi and Peter Aamodt, at Temple Sinai, New Orleans, on March 21.

Madelyn Ruth Goff, daughter of Lisa Kullman Goff and the late Douglas Adam Goff, at Touro Synagogue, New Orleans, on March 28.

Rebecca Dykshorn, daughter of Michelle Edelman and Donald Dykshorn, at Temple Sinai, New Orleans, on March 28.

Eli Jaffe, son of Rachel and Mark Jaffe, at Gates of Prayer, Metairie, on March 28.

Naomi Adler, daughter of Brian Batchelor celebrated his Andrew and Polly Watts Adler, Bar Mitzvah at Temple Emaat Shir Chadash, Metairie, on nu-El, Birmingham, on April 11.

March 28.

A graduate of Troy University, he Gabrielle Joyce Oser, daugh- is a senior financial analyst with ter of Rachel Oser and Allen Protective Life Insurance. BatcheOser, at Temple Emanu-El, Bir- lor is the son of Julia and Keener mingham, on March 28.

Batchelor of Dothan. He also celeNaomi Adler, daughter of brated the event with wife Jennifer Andrew and Polly Watts Adler, and children Abigail, Mary, Tyson at Shir Chadash, Metairie, on and Levi.

March 28.

Emma Benjamin, daughter of Jennifer and Jack Benjamin Jr., at Temple Sinai, New Orleans, on April 18.

Nicole Glickman, daughter of Patricia and Jimmy Glickman, at Shir Chadash, Metairie, on April 18.

Samson Sands, son of Lynn and Harlan Sands, at Temple Emanu-El, Birmingham, on April 18.

Melissa Stein, daughter of Amy and Scott Stein, at Temple Beth-El, Birmingham, on April 18.

Mitchell Halpern, son of Mary and David Halpern, at Gates of Prayer, Metairie, on April 25.

Nickolas Siegel, son of Joanna and Herrick Siegel, at Temple Emanu-El, Birmingham, on April 25.

Musical mitzvah: The centerpieces on the tables at Shir Chadash for the Bat Mitzvah of Nicole Glickman were musical instruments that were then donated to schools in the New Orleans area. The Glickman family owns New Orleans Music Exchange.

Metairie congregations have joint Shavuot all-nighter Beth Israel, Shir Chadash and Gates of Prayer in Metairie will once again combine forces for a community Tikkun Leil, an all-night study session ushering in Shavuot.

The night begins on May 23 with the evening service at 8:30 p.m. A dairy dessert will start at 8:45 p.m.

Five community educators will lead individual sessions at 9:15 p.m., and again at 10:15 p.m. so participants can learn from more than one. Beth Israel Rabbi Gabe Greenberg, Shir Chadash Rabbi Ethan Linden, Gates of Prayer

Rabbi Bob Loewy, Shir Chadash Director of Education Deborah Mintz and Jewish Community Day School Head of School Sharon Pollin will lead the sessions.

At 11 p.m. there will be a rabbinic panel with Greenberg, Linden and Loewy.

Additional learning sessions will continue until 5 a.m. A festival minyan will be held on May 24, time to be announced. For the second day of Shavuot, which falls on Memorial Day this year, services will be held at Beth Israel at 9 a.m. on May 25, with Yizkor around 10:30 a.m.

Temple Sinai Gala celebrates 145 years On April 11, Temple Sinai celebrated 145 years in New Orleans with a “Salute to the Past, Step Into the Future” Gala. Entertainment was provided by the Pussyfooters and music by The Gold Standard.

NOLA

Upcoming Events Tuesday, May 5 GiveNOLA Day JNOLA GiveNOLA Happy Hour. Cellar Door. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Young Jewish Professionals dinner. Chabad of Louisiana Uptown. 8 p.m.

Thursday, May 7 Lag B’Omer Lion of Judah Luncheon. Home of Carol Asher. 11:45 a.m.

Saturday, May 9 Brotherhood Bingo. Temple Sinai, New Orleans. 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 13 JCRC and JNOLA Luncheon on Arab-Jewish Coexistence, with Michele Chabin. Irish House. Noon.

Leadership Development Alumni Meeting, with Michele Chabin. Home of Sharon Jacobs and Lenny Davis. 6:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 17 Yom Yerushalayim Annual Meeting. Touro Synagogue. 10 a.m.

Shir Chadash Picnic and Pool Party. Metairie JCC. 11 a.m.

Monday, May 18 Annual Meeting. Jewish Community Day School. 7 p.m.

Friday, May 22 Consul General Eitan Levon. Beth Israel, following 7 p.m. service.

Annual Meeting and Installation. Gates of Prayer. 6 p.m.

Annual Meeting. Temple Sinai. 6 p.m.

Saturday, May 23 Erev Shavuot Joint Tikkun Leil Shavuot. Beth Israel. All night, starts 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 24 First Day of Shavuot Monday, May 25 Second Day of Shavuot Memorial Day Thursday, May 28 JCRC and JNOLA reception with Josh Schwarz. Uptown JCC, 6 p.m.

Friday, May 29 Jewish Community Day School Jewish Babies Club Swim Party. Metairie JCC, 11 a.m.

Sunday, May 31 Jewish Family Service Rhythm and Soul Fundraiser.

Audubon Tea Room. 5 p.m.

May 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 33

Continued from page 3

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get mainstream acceptance under the Jewish umbrella. Should a businessperson in the Jewish community be able to refuse service?

Jewish publications, including this one, will not knowingly run ads from “messianic” groups (there was an incident a decade ago when a last-minute ad buy across the country turned out to be for a messianic-themed movie and it caused a major furor in our industry — we were not among those who had the ad).

Because in many communities, kashrut certification is as much about politics as it is Jewish law, it isn’t inconceivable that a kosher caterer who did a “messianic” event could see threats of having certification pulled.

That’s a hypothetical, here’s a reality. For a significant segment of the Orthodox world, it is not permitted to even enter a church for just about any reason. Should they be forced to?

And what of a ceremony involving Westboro Baptist, which is among the most virulent haters of gay people (and they’re not particularly fond of Jews either). A gay caterer could not use the religious objections card in that case. Nevertheless, should the caterer be forced to accommodate?

As with so many passionate topics, there are many facets to the argument, generally overlooked as the two sides polarize and refuse to cede any point that could lend credibility to the other side.

If you don’t cater a same-sex wedding, you are an extremist bigot who needs to be drummed out of civilized society. If you don’t allow a vendor to refuse service, you’re an anti-religion troublemaker just trying to ruin good God-fearing people while you work toward the moral decay of our society.

There’s not much in between. There needs to be.

As the examples mentioned here indicate, there are instances where the shoe switches feet. Should there be some room for a business owner to decide who to accommodate?

But then…

Should a business be able to refuse to serve blacks?

That is the unspoken background to this whole debate. Half a century ago, it was the rigidly-enforced norm that “white” establishments did not have to serve blacks, and that was not long after it was common to see establishments that did not want to serve Jews.

The country said that was wrong, if you are a public business you can not discriminate on race or religion. That is why so many people are uncomfortable with allowing businesses to pick and choose based on sexual preference, or any other criteria.

Until it is their criteria.

Decades ago, many used Biblical interpretations to back up their bigotry toward blacks or Jews. It wasn’t used that often, but some people did see a religious justification for segregation.

Today, only those on the extreme use Biblical arguments about the inferiority of this or that group. Fifty years from now, will such Biblical arguments against same-sex couples be viewed the same way as we now look at the Biblical justifications for segregation?

Meanwhile, ponder this.

Should a black caterer be able to refuse a Klansman’s event?

Should a Jewish hotel owner be able to refuse to host a gathering of Holocaust deniers?

Where can the line be drawn when rights collide?

Larry Brook 34 Southern Jewish Life • May 2015

EDITOR/PUBLISHER

EDITOR@SJLMAG.COM

NOLA

commentary #NeverAgain

by Mary-Margaret Fill

Special to Southern Jewish Life

On March 14, a typical Saturday night at Vanderbilt University ended with a sobering and nauseating sight: swastikas spray-painted on the walls of a Jewish fraternity.

The Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs condemned the act in a message to the student body. The Vanderbilt Police Department is investigating it as a hate crime. The executive director of Vanderbilt Hillel called what happened “inexcusable.”

In early April, a gunshot was fired into the West End Synagogue in Nashville. Police were “not aware of recent threats to harm the synagogue or its membership.”

Unfortunately, events like these are nothing new.

In April 2013, three people, including a 14-year-old boy, were murdered in a shooting at the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park, Kansas. The gunman reportedly shouted “Heil Hitler” during the attack.

In April 2014, on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, a student at the University of Central Florida had swastikas carved into the wall of her apartment and her mezuzah broken in half. A $500 reward was offered for information about the crime, and the act was condemned

by UCF administrators. No arrest was ever made.

In July 2014, swastikas were spray painted on the mailboxes of the Jewish fraternity at The University of Oregon. The Eugene human rights commission “strongly condemned” the “hateful actions.”

In October 2014, shortly after the end of the observance of Yom Kippur, swastikas were spray painted on the Jewish fraternity at Emory University. Emory President James Wagner released a strong statement “denouncing the abhorrent act” and pledged Emory’s ongoing commitment to raising awareness and preventing all forms of violence and discrimination. The perpetrators were never identified.

On February 10, 2015 a Jewish candidate for the UCLA Judicial Board was questioned not about her qualifications for the position (which were indisputable), but about whether her status as a Jewish student and subsequent involvement in Jewish organizations on campus made her biased. After a 40-minute debate, she was rejected for the position. However, the board’s academic advisor weighed in, and the board subsequently unanimously approved the student’s appointment. The students serving on the board apologized and the UCLA student union passed an anti-Semitism resolution. UCLA’s Chancellor, Gene Block, denounced the board’s action and called it a “teachable moment.” No other action was taken.

There are many more examples than these.

Similar events have been reported at universities and in communities around the country.

NOLA

When did behavior like this become acceptable? When did we let our college campuses and communities become places where some individuals feel unwelcome, or worse, unsafe?

Perhaps these events wouldn’t be as worrisome if they weren’t occurring in the context of the growing tide of anti-Semitism in Europe and other parts of the world. In May 2014, four people were shot to death at the Jewish Museum of Brussels. Pro-Palestinian rallies in Belgium and France this summer not only denounced Israel, but included signage and chants such as “Gas the Jews!” and “Death to the Jews!” In the wake of these and many other events, immigration to Israel has reached a 10-year high with 26,500 people making aliyah in 2014. Seven thousand of them were from France alone.

In July 2014, a German synagogue was torched with firebombs. German courts ruled it an “Act of Protest” motivated by a desire to “bring attention to the Gaza conflict.” James Kirchick, a foreign correspondent with The New York Daily News, made the following comparison: “A group of skinheads torch a black church somewhere in the Deep South. Upon being apprehended by the police, they cite the injustices that Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe has visited upon the white farmers of his country as justification for their arson. Mugabe is black, he rules on behalf of ‘the black race,’ and therefore black people everywhere must be made to feel responsible for his crimes.”

Can you imagine the (justified) outrage?

Many defend anti-Semitic words and actions as free speech and worthwhile protest in the ongoing dialogue about Israel and the Middle East conflict. However, in many instances we see the line become blurred. Manuel Valls, the Socialist Prime Minister of France, says, “it is legitimate to criticize the policies of Israel. This criticism exists in Israel itself. But … [t]here is an incontestable link between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism.”

Free speech is a fundamental tenet of our democracy and should be protected fiercely. However, we must be cautious in allowing the First Amendment to be used as a shield for bigotry and overtures of hate.

Recently, members of the University of Oklahoma’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity were videotaped on a bus singing undeniably racist songs.

The University of Oklahoma’s actions were swift.

The University’s president permanently ended the school’s affiliation with SAE and expelled the two students identified from the video. The public response to these actions was positive and echoed President Boren’s sentiments: we will not tolerate this type of behavior. Only now, as the dust has begun to settle, have questions about the legality of the University’s actions been raised.

The student’s behavior was undoubtedly repugnant and indefensible. We should not allow

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May 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 35

DINING

Vega Tapas Cafe

by Lee J. Green Vega Tapas Café introduced New Orleans to the Spanish small plate concept in 1996. Now new owner and New Orleans-native Greg Francis has some big ideas of how to enhance the restaurant in Old Metairie.

“I have kept many of the things and menu items that have made this place great,” said Francis, who acquired the restaurant last November. “But we’re adding some things to make it an even-more unique, enjoyable dining experience.”

Vega Tapas Café was originally started by Chef Allison Vega almost 20 years ago. “This was before the concept of Spanish tapas and gastropub small plates was really known in the U.S. Years later came the Food Network and Bravo ‘Top Chef ’ that popularized it,” said Francis. “Allison Vega was really a pioneer.”

The concept came many years ago from Spain. Places would serve regular wines, many of which in Spain tended to be sweeter and more fruity. Thus they would draw fruit flies.

Restauranteurs began putting small plates on top of wine glasses to prevent the flies from getting in the wine. On top of the small plates they would put breads, cheeses, almonds and other items that went well with wine. Thus the concept of tapas or “small plates” was born.

The concept lends itself to ordering several small plates and sharing. Francis said since Vega Tapas Café is in New Orleans, some special touches are added such as empanadas with crawfish and New Orleans-style bread pudding with a special Spanish-style sauce.

“These are Spanish dishes injected with New Orleans Cajun/Creole flavor,” he said. “After all, there is both Spanish and French in Creole.”

Some of the numerous kosher-style items on the Vega Tapas Café menu include Vega salad, manzana salad, patatas (potatoes), pescado (pan-roasted gulf fish over creamy roasted cauliflower puree), hongos (wild mushroom ravioli with madeira cream), pez (pan-roasted ahi tuna over marinated beluga lentils), Spanish artisan queso plate (cheeses), albondingas (spicy lamb meatballs with apricot mint glaze) and for dessert mantillas de pan (white chocolate bread pudding with saffron anglaise and coconut gelato).

Francis was born and raised in New Orleans. He graduated from Holy Cross High School and LSU. He 36 Southern Jewish Life • May 2015

2051 Metairie Rd 504.836.2007 vegatapascafe.com

has 28 years of experience in the restaurant management business.

“At 17-years-old I started as the manager of a deli/no-cover bar in Baton Rouge,” said Francis.

A few years after he graduated he was a restaurant manager on the Mississippi Queen riverboat and would play a major role in the opening of Kingfish as well as refreshing of Broussard’s with Creole Cuisine Concept.

For eight years he oversaw 25 restaurants from New York to Miami for Kimpton Hotels while based out of their Washington office.

But home was calling him and he also wanted to be the sole owner of his own restaurant. The second owner of Vega Tapas Café was looking to sell and Francis leaped at the chance.

“I had always loved going to this place when I was younger and still living in New Orleans,” he said. “We are slowly changing and enhancing Vega Tapas Café through evolution, not revolution.”

One of the changes Francis has made was to work more with local growers and food providers. He has added some new dishes to the menu, and more are on the way.

Currently Vega Tapas Café opens at 5:30 p.m. for dinner Monday through Saturday.

It is closed for lunch and all day Sunday, but Francis soon hopes to be able to add a Sunday brunch. The restaurant seats 75 people and can open for private events during lunch hours and Sundays when the restaurant is closed to the public.

NOLA

Continued from page 38

Doug Brook is a writer in Silicon Valley who is brushing up his Shakespeare as the new Executive Director of Silicon Valley Shakespeare. For past columns, other writings, and more, visit http:// brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, follow facebook.com/the.beholders.eye.

>> NeverAgain such hatred and intolerance, particularly on our college campuses. Furthermore, our society must stand against such bigotry when it is directed at any group.

The truth is this: swastikas do not feel like a political statement or innocent prank to the Jewish college students that are the victims of these crimes.

Swastikas are a statement of violence and hate, which these students feel very personally. We forget that it has been barely 70 years since the Holocaust, and that many of them may have lost family in the genocide. In this context, the swastika is not a theoretical, ideological symbol; it is synonymous with genocide and extermination.

This should be personal not just to the Jewish students, but to our communities as well.

We find ourselves at a critical juncture.

Will our universities and communities rise in defense of our Jewish friends, colleagues and neighbors and stand with them in defiance of these recurrent acts of anti-Semitism? Or, will the United States find itself following in the footsteps of Europe and allow anti-Semitism to continue to grow unabated?

I know where I will stand. Do you?

MIGNON FAGET

three festival holidays. It commemorates the giving of the Torah with two days of services attended only by the few remaining people who were actually (and not midrashically) present for the giving at Sinai.

This year, Shavuot is coincident with Memorial Day weekend. For those who don’t usually attend Shavuot services, it gives them double the excuse not to. However, the simultaneous Shavuot and Memorial Day weekend reduces by one the usual calendar events people use for avoiding services.

Next year, it will return to normal, adding back another day for fewer people to notice the guy muttering to himself in the back pew.

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“Has the like of this happened in your days or in the days of your fathers? Tell your children about it, and let your children tell theirs, and their children the next generation!”

1 Joel, 2-3 (Displayed on the walls of Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.)

Mary Margaret-Fill is currently finishing a combined residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and will become a member of the Center for Disease Control’s Epidemic Intelligence Service starting in July.

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NOLA

May 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 37

the back pew • doug brook

By any other name Judaism has a long history of name changes. Since early in the Torah, numerous names have been changed to add a piece of the Big G to certain special people’s monikers. Abram became Abraham, Sarai became Sarah.

Jacob became Israel. Hoshea became Joshua. Zimmerman became Dylan.

Following in that divine tradition, but with decidedly less divine influence, this column is changing its name. It is not changing to protect the innocent — that ship sailed long ago for this columnist as well as for both of you readers, by virtue of prolonged exposure.

So, what is the significance of The Back Pew? At most synagogue services, the front row is empty. Sometimes the family for a bar or bat mitzvah is there, but that is either by instruction or because they don’t know better.

A rabbi with whom I worked in Pittsburgh often explained this orchestra-seat emptiness by stating that the front row is reserved for the righteous and the pure of heart. After hearing that, I acted on my newfound obligation and immediately started to sit in the back row at all services, unless WHAT’S IN compelled by family.

It’s just as well because it’s harder for a rabbi to A NAME hear sermon heckling from back there.

(CHANGE)?

Similarly, this column has been featured on the back page of the magazine, though technically it is the front of the magazine for any Hebrew readers who out of habit approach each issue from right to left.

As always, this space is still for rant. Both of you will continue to receive the same quality of humor as before, for which the editorial staff insisted on including this apology. So fear not, while you gather your remaining Passover marshmallows for the Lag b’Omer bonfire so you can make S’mor-a Matzah.

Speaking of the Lag chag, too little in Jewish humor is said about the Omer. That gap will not be filled by the following.

Why do we count the Omer each year? For the same theological reason as many other things we do: Because the Torah says so.

However, while the original verse is widely published in Leviticus, the recently discovered Mishnah tractate Bava Gump reveals an additional excerpt that provides still more detail as to the Omer counting process.

From the Book of Omerments, Chapter Four, Verses 16 through 20: “Thou must count to forty-nine. Forty-nine shall be the number of the counting, and the number of the counting shall be forty-nine.

“Fifty shalt thou not count, neither shalt thou count forty-eight, excepting that thou then proceedeth to forty-nine.

“Fifty-one is right out.”

This did not lead to enough confusion, so the rabbis added another level of complexity by forbidding mention of the number to be counted until it is counted.

“Thou shalt not say the day of which thou counteth, until thou hast counted it.

“If thou doest so, thou hast counted before thou intended to count, thus surprising yourself.

“Imagineth: ‘We are about to count the twenty-fifth day of the Om… I just counted the twenty-fifth day of the Omer’.”

Bava Gump believed the worst part of this was that this guy probably did the same thing on the previous twenty-four days, too. And lived.

Of course, the culmination of the Omer is Shavuot — the third of the continued on previous page 38 Southern Jewish Life • May 2015

NOLA

Going All Out while Kicking for Kids

The New Orleans Jewish Community Center held its annual Kicking for Kids kickball tournament on March 29 at the Uptown JCC. This year, All About That Base won the double-elimination tournament that benefits children’s and teen programming at the JCC. The winning team receives a pool party for 50 at the Uptown JCC. Last year the tournament ended in a tie, between Just Kick It! and Where My Pitches At?

NOLA

May 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 39

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